Go-Go hamsters survive toxic scare

Fears over traces of chemical on 'must-have' Christmas toy hit shares in Character
Group, its UK distributer.

Children in the UK can rest easy - Mr Squiggles the hamster will not be put down.

The global toy industry was rocked on Monday by claims that the fur on one of this season's must-have Go Go Hamsters range of electronic rodents contained traces of an arsenic-like chemical beyond permitted levels.

News of the apparent poison scare sent a panic around the toy industry and sent shares in the toys' UK distributor, Aim-listed Character Group, down by as much as 8pc. The £10 animatronic Cricetinae are on track to be Christmas's biggest selling toy with more than 600,000 of the battery-operated toys expected to be sold by December 25 in the UK alone.

However after a frantic day of investigations, statements and clarifications it transpired that the claims by US consumer group Good Guide were based on different testing methodology to those used by European and US regulators and that the hamster in question – Mr Squiggles – is perfectly safe.

Cepia, the US group that produces the toys, said that it had referred the incident to its US attorneys and was "considering proceedings" against Good Guide. In a statement on its website, Character Group said: “We assure you that Mr Squiggles is absolutely safe and has passed the most rigorous testing in the toy industry for consumer health and safety.”

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Character’s executive chairman Richard King told The Daily Telegraph that the company was “pretty upset” at the claims. “It’s disruptive and it’s unfair at this time of year,” he said. “I am not that happy about it but it is part of the game we are in.”

Over the weekend Good Guide said it had found higher-then-permitted traces of antimony, a chemical, on Mr Squiggles.

However, in a statement it said that there had been “some confusion” over its research. It said that the methodology it used was different to the tests used in federal standards.

Character Group sent the products for further tests following Good Guide’s claims, which reaffirmed the products’ safety. Mr King said: “They were testing for a standard that did not apply, and they were not using the right equipment.”

Argos, which has sold thousands of the toys, said: “The Go Go Hamsters range is perfectly safe. As a result, we can confirm that Argos has no plans to remove them from sale.